Whirlpool bathtub

ABSTRACT

Provided is a whirlpool bathtub with improved placement of a condenser of a motor in a pump used to circulate water in the whirlpool bathtub. As the whirlpool bathtub in which a pump 20 including a motor 30 and an impeller 40 is installed in an internal space 11 of a bathtub body 10, there is provided a whirlpool bathtub 1 in which a condenser 31 which is connected to the motor 30 for driving the motor 30 is installed at the outside of the bathtub body 10 rather than the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10, and as a result, when the condenser 31 of the motor 30 is repaired, the bathtub body 10 needs not to be separated from a bathroom 2.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 20-2016-0001258 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 9, 2016, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a whirlpool bathtub and more particularly, to a whirlpool bathtub with improved placement of a condenser of a motor in a pump used to circulate water in the whirlpool bathtub.

BACKGROUND ART

A whirlpool bathtub is a bathtub that allows a user to obtain a massage effect by generating a high-pressure water flow containing bubbles in the bathtub.

As the related art relating to the whirlpool bathtub, ‘whirlpool bathtub’ in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0912229 and the like are variously developed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary whirlpool bathtub disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0912229.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a whirlpool bathtub 100 in the related art includes a bathtub body 110 molded with a plastic synthetic resin and the like, a suction port 120 suctioning water in the bathtub body 110, an ejection port 130 ejecting the water into the bathtub body 110, a circulation pipe 140 piped to circulate the water between the suction port 120 and the ejection port 130, a pump 150 installed in the circulation pipe 140 to eject high-pressure water into the ejection port 130 and circulate the water, an air supply pipe 160 mixing air with the water in the circulation pipe 140 to eject bubble water through the ejection port 130, and an operation panel 170 having a switch for turning on/off the operation of the pump 150 and the like.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary conventional pump 150 which is widely used in the whirlpool bathtub. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the pump 150 includes a motor 151 and an impeller 152. In a power supply circuit of the pump 150, a condenser 153 for providing a driving force when the pump 150 is initially operated is connected. Generally, the condenser 153 is installed inside a cover 151 a of the motor 151. In addition, in the impeller 152, a suction pipe 152 a and an ejection pipe 152 b which are connected with the circulation pipe 140 are formed. An air switch 155 that turns on/off a switch contact point 154 disposed inside the cover 151 a of the motor 151 by air pressure generated by pressing a button is widely used in on/off of the power of the motor 151.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pump 150 and the pipes such as the circulation pipe 140 are installed in an internal space 111 (a space between a bath panel 112 and a skirt panel 113) of the bathtub body 110 so as not to be exposed to the sight.

When the whirlpool bathtub 100 is used, a main cause of failure is the failure of the pump 150. Accordingly, when the failure in the pump 150 occurs and repairing is required, in a state where the whirlpool bathtub 100 is installed over the bottom and wall of the bathroom, the pump 150 cannot be approached. Thus, if the whirlpool bathtub 100 or the skirt panel 113 finished with silicon and the like is not separated from the bathroom, the pump 150 cannot be repaired. As a result, the repairing work of the pump 150 is substantially the same as the installing work of the whirlpool bathtub 100, and thus the repairing work of the pump 150 may be a very complicated and time and cost-consuming operation.

As such, when the pump 150 does not operate, the use of the whirlpool function is often abandoned without repairing, because it is difficult to repair the pump 150 of the whirlpool bathtub 100.

According to the accumulated experience of the inventor of the present invention who has handled the whirlpool bathtub for a long time, it has been found that almost all the failures in which the pump 150 does not operate is not are caused due to not a failure of the motor 151 itself or the impeller 152 but damage to the condenser 153 installed in the motor 151.

The present inventor has completed the present invention upon seeking various countermeasures in order to solve a conventional problem in which a complicated high-cost time-consuming repairing operation which needs to separate and reinstall the entirety of the whirlpool bathtub 100 in the bathroom.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a new whirlpool bathtub capable of simply repairing (replacing) only a damaged condenser without executing a complicated time/cost consuming repairing operation which needs to separate and reinstall a whirlpool bathtub in a bathroom when a pump is not actuated due to damage to a condenser of the motor driving the pump in the whirlpool bathtub.

The whirlpool bathtub according to the present invention includes a pump which is installed in an internal space of a bathtub body. The pump includes a motor and an impeller.

In the whirlpool bathtub, a condenser connected to the motor for driving of the motor is installed at the outside the bathtub body rather than the internal space of the bathtub body, and as a result, when the condenser of the motor is repaired, it is not required to separate the bathtub body from the bathroom.

The condenser may be installed in a condenser chamber which is installed watertightly on an outer surface of the bathtub body or a wall surface of the bathroom in which the bathtub body is installed.

In the condenser chamber, a check port which is watertightly openable may be formed.

The check port may be watertightly sealed by a sealant which is releasable in the condenser chamber.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in a whirlpool bathtub, when a pump is not actuated due to damage a condenser, the condenser installed in a condenser chamber outside a bathtub body is simply replaced to repair a pump very simply, rapidly, and inexpensively, without an operation of separating the bathtub body from a bathroom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary whirlpool bathtub according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary pump applied to the whirlpool bathtub of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an exemplary conventional whirlpool bathtub.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary conventional pump applied to the whirlpool bathtub.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a whirlpool bathtub according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A detailed example given below just exemplarily describe the present invention and does not restrict the present invention.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a whirlpool bathtub 1 according to the present invention includes a bathtub body 10 molded of a plastic synthetic resin and the like.

The bathtub body 10 includes a bath panel 10 a and a skirt panel 10 b. The bath panel 10 a is filled with water and includes a deck on which arms may be hung and toiletries may be placed. The skirt panel 10 b is spread downward around the bath panel 10 a. As a result, in the bathtub body 10, a certain degree of internal space 11 is formed between the bath panel 10 a and the skirt panel 10 b.

A pump 20 is installed in the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10. The pump 20 includes a motor 30 and an impeller 40. In the bathtub body 10, a suction port 12 that suctions water contained in the bathtub, an ejection ports 13 that eject water or bubble water into bathtub body 10, a circulation pipe 14 that is connected among the suction port 12, the ejection ports 13 and the pump 20 to transfer the water are included.

In the pump 20, a suction pipe 41 and an ejection pipe 42 which are connected with the circulation pipe 14 is formed.

According to the feature of the whirlpool bathtub 1 according to the present invention, the pump 20 is installed in the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10, but the condenser 31, which is connected to the motor 30 in a circuit scheme for driving the motor 30, is installed at the outside of the bathtub body 10 instead of the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10.

In the whirlpool bathtub 1 of the present invention, the installation position of the condenser 31 is the outside of the bathtub body 10. The installation position of the condenser 31 is not particularly limited so long as the operator needs not to remove the bathtub body 10 from the bathroom 2 for replacement of the condenser 31. For example, the condenser 31 may be installed on an outer surface 15 of the bathtub body 10 from such as an upper deck of the bath panel 10 a or a side of the skirt panel 10 b. The condenser 31 may also be installed on a wall surface 3 of the bathroom 2 adjacent to the bathtub body 10.

As a detailed embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, an example in which the condenser 31 is installed on the skirt panel 10 b of the outer surface 15 of the bathtub body 10 by using a condenser chamber 50 to be described below is illustrated.

Since the bathroom 2 is under a high temperature and humidity environment, when the condenser 31 is directly exposed to the outside, there may be damage to the condenser 31 or a risk of short circuit and electric shock. Accordingly, the condenser 31 may be installed to be accommodated in the condenser chamber 50 which is watertightly fabricated. In this case, an openable check port 51 can be formed in the condenser chamber 50, and thus when the condenser 31 is replaced, the check port 51 is opened, and when the replacement is completed, the check port 51 is closed again and then the condenser chamber 50 can be kept watertight.

Further, when the check port 51 of the condenser chamber 50 is unintentionally opened, there is a risk of short circuit and electric shock. Accordingly, the check port 51 may be watertightly sealed by a sealant 52 such as silicon in the condenser chamber 50. The sealing of the sealant 52 is released by a knife and the like to open the check port 51. After the condenser 31 is replaced, the check port 51 may be sealed by the sealant 52 such as silicon again.

When the condenser chamber 50 is installed in the bathtub body 10, the condenser chamber 50 may be integrally formed when the bathtub body 10 is formed. Further, the condenser chamber 50 is separately formed to be adhered to the outer surface 15 of the bathtub body 10 or the wall surface 3 of the bathroom 2 by an adhesive and the like.

The whirlpool bathtub 1 of the present invention may include an air switch 33 that pneumatically operates a switch terminal 32 installed in the motor 30 in order to turn on/off the motor 30 of the pump 20. The air switch 33 may be installed in the operation panel 60 provided in the deck of the bath panel 10 a together with other operating switches.

As described above, in the whirlpool bathtub 1 of the present invention, since the condenser 31 of the motor 30 used in the pump 20 is installed at the outside rather than the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10, when the damage to the condenser 31 occupying most of causes of the pump failure occurs, without a complicated and time/cost-consuming operation such as separating the bathtub body 10 from the bathroom 2 and installing the bathtub body in the bathroom 2 again after replacing the condenser 31, the pump 20 can be easily and inexpensively repaired by a simple operation of opening the condenser chamber 50 provided outside the bathtub body 10 and replacing the condenser 31. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A whirlpool bathtub 1 in which a pump 20 including a motor 30 and an impeller 40 is installed in an internal space 11 of a bathtub body 10, wherein a condenser 31 which is connected to the motor 30 for driving the motor 30 is installed at the outside of the bathtub body 10 rather than the internal space 11 of the bathtub body 10, and as a result, when the condenser 31 of the motor 30 is repaired, the bathtub body 10 need not be separated from a bathroom
 2. 2. The whirlpool bathtub of claim 1, wherein the condenser 31 is installed in a condenser chamber 50 which is watertightly installed on an outer surface 15 of the bathtub body 10 or a wall surface 3 of the bathroom 2 in which the bathtub body 10 is installed, and the condenser chamber 50 includes a check port 51 which is watertightly openable.
 3. The whirlpool bathtub of claim 2, wherein the check port 51 is watertightly sealed in the condenser chamber 50 by a releasable sealant
 52. 